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Havering, London

Side return extension drawings in Havering

A side return in Havering is usually a strip beside a semi or end-of-terrace house, filled to give a wider kitchen or a utility room. We draw side return extensions here from £745 including VAT, and the first thing we look up is whether your plot touches Green Belt, because over half the borough does.

From £745 (VAT included)

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  • Fixed fees, VAT included

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    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on side return extension drawings

    Nine steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    8. Building regulations

      Technical drawings are coordinated with the structural engineer's calculations, the drainage and the planning conditions.

    9. Approval and hand-over

      Building control approval, then a next-steps pack covering the commencement notice, party wall timing and CIL.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

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    House extension under construction with scaffolding, new glazed doors and building materials

    Havering's guidance and the plots it covers

    The council's householder guidance is its Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD, applied alongside the borough's wider planning policy. It does not hand us a single side-infill dimension to quote, so we read its tests against your plot during the free check and put the relevant ones on the drawings.

    What the borough's data does tell us is the housing it serves. 76.7 per cent of households live in a house or bungalow, and 69.5 per cent own the home, figures that point to a borough of owner-occupied houses. The average semi-detached sold for £540,897 and the average terrace for £435,382 in the latest figures, which is why many choose to extend rather than move.

    That mix is why we spend time on the junction with the neighbour's house. On a semi the extension often passes a bedroom window or a flank door, and the drawings show both.

    Brick house being extended, with a wide new opening supported over the ground floor

    Local figures for Havering

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Supplementary planning documentResidential Extensions and Alterations SPD2011havering.gov.uk
    Green Belt share of the council area53 % of council area covered by green-belt polygons—planning.data.gov.uk
    Conservation areas11 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries146 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Households living in a house76.7 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Owner-occupied households69.5 % of households owner-occupied (owned outright or with mortgage/loan)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Average price, semi-detached540,897 GBP2026-07publicdata.landregistry.gov.uk
    Householder decisions985 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted85.9 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time97.8 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals granted21 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals refused27 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder: alterations/extensions to a single dwellinghouse, from 1 Apr 2026548 GBP—ribblevalley.gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Councils bordering Havering
    The 45-degree test in planTest used in daylight assessments: 45 degrees (plan and elevation). Havering guidance: 3 m terrace / 4 m semi or detached; 45 degreesAB

    The 45-degree test in plan

    A line from the middle of the neighbour's nearest window: the extension should stay behind it.

    A · Test used in daylight assessments
    45 degrees (plan and elevation)
    B · Havering guidance
    3 m terrace / 4 m semi or detached; 45 degrees

    Green Belt, conservation areas and listed homes in Havering

    Green belt polygons cover 53 per cent of Havering, and an extension to a Green Belt house is judged on how much larger the building becomes. Side returns are modest, but earlier additions count towards the total, so the survey records what has already been built.

    The council also publishes 11 conservation areas, and national permitted development stops there: No side extensions under PD on article 2(3) land (conservation areas etc.). Historic England lists 146 entries inside the boundary, and a listed house needs consent that is separate from planning.

    On undesignated land in Havering the national allowance reads: Side extension: single storey, max 4 m high, max half the width of the original house.

    How Havering has been deciding householder applications

    Havering decided 985 householder applications in its latest twelve months, granting 85.9 per cent, with 97.8 per cent decided within eight weeks or an agreed extension.

    Prior approval for deeper rear extensions went the other way: 21 granted and 27 refused. If your plan joins a side return to a deeper rear, we usually advise a full application, and if you only need to prove a small scheme is lawful, a lawful development certificate in Havering does that.

    Havering collects the national householder fee of £548 when the application goes in.

    Levies and boundaries to budget for

    Havering charges a borough levy on new floor area, shown as £151.52/m² (Zone A, North of A1306); £66.67/m² (Zone B, South of A1306). Small domestic extensions are often exempt, and the pack we hand over records whether yours is.

    Boundary work is its own cost. A wall built new on the line triggers: Line-of-junction (new wall) notice at least 1 month before work, and a cut into a shared wall needs: Party structure notice at least 2 months before work. Our party wall notices service drafts both notices for Havering neighbours.

    We usually run the Havering job in three steps. First comes the address review, covering Green Belt, conservation area and listing. Then a measured survey records the existing outrigger, the flank wall and any earlier extension, because a past addition on a semi shrinks what is left to build. Last, we draw the proposal and send it to you for comment before anything goes to the council. If you want a utility room at the back of the new space, we place the pipework runs and the boiler flue on the plan at this stage rather than leaving them to the builder.

    What the Havering set contains

    Plans, elevations and sections of the existing and proposed house, with location and block plans and the forms if you want them submitted. The fee is £745, fixed up front.

    Glazing needs thought, since the rule is: Windows, roof windows, rooflights and doors in an extension should not exceed 25% of the extension floor area plus the area of openings removed or covered. Our building regulations drawings in Havering carry the energy detail, and a second chartered technologist checks every sheet before it leaves. If you want the rear changed as well, see rear extension drawings in Havering.

    What you receive

    Planning drawing sheet for a rear extension with plans, elevations and sections
    Sample drawing. Planning drawings for a rear extension: plans, elevations and sections on one sheet set.
    Finished white-rendered rear house extension with large glazed doors
    Every side considered
    Flick across the turntable to spin it.

    Other services in Havering

    Side return extension drawings nearby

    Questions

    Does Green Belt stop a side return in Havering?

    Not by itself. Green Belt covers 53 per cent of the borough, and an extension there is judged on how much larger the house becomes.

    Does Havering decide householder cases on time?

    97.8 per cent were decided within eight weeks or an agreed extension in the latest twelve months.

    What is the permitted development limit for a side extension?

    Side extension: single storey, max 4 m high, max half the width of the original house.

    Do I need a party wall notice for a side return?

    In most cases, because the new flank wall meets the boundary: Line-of-junction (new wall) notice at least 1 month before work.

    Sources and dates

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    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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